Magical Mayhem Begins
A chaotic incident had unfolded, but that didn't mean the day ground to a halt. Whether Ellie had been chosen by Chaos or not, time marched on relentlessly. Which meant that after waking up in the morning, it was time to head to class.
By now, I could roam the academy freely on my own—the place had adapted to my presence. Above all, the fact that I was living quietly without causing any trouble was my greatest progress. If my body felt stiff now and then, I'd just rampage a bit in the Chaos Forest, and that was that. Lord had personally approved it.
'And I'm steadily earning money too.'
Money management had been decided: I'd handle it myself instead of Lize. Once they learned the person I'd invested in after the stock market jackpot was Jane, all suspicions vanished. This incident had granted me considerable freedom. Of course, the moment I caused another mishap, all eyes would be on me again.
'Gotta be careful. Time to show I've adapted to civilization.'
Final exams were approaching, and a special event was planned right after. Major figures from nations around the world would gather there, with plenty of political entanglements. Rumors about me had surely spread, so I needed to avoid giving anyone unnecessary ammunition.
'There'll definitely be guys picking fights.'
Cross that bridge when I came to it. Right now, my focus was the finals. They'd said there were no pointless penalties, which piqued my curiosity. How would they balance things? The gap between me and the other students was massive. Even the professors would struggle to beat me. Plus, with Berserk gone and Rampage acquired, I could now beat Hector while keeping my sanity.
'Kinda looking forward to it.'
Lately, fun things kept happening every day. And I wasn't even causing accidents. At this rate, the story could progress smoothly and normally.
Or so I thought.
"Alright. Today, we'll be doing basic magic practice. It's a bit late in the game, but since it's just the basics, please give it your best."
This afternoon's class was basic magic practice, learning the fundamentals under Godin's guidance. As in previous classes, learning magic was optional either way. You had to dig one well deep to make it big. In that sense, warriors learning magic wasn't very efficient, but basic spells were worth picking up.
"Learning magic at a basic level isn't a bad idea at all. It's especially useful for utilizing your surroundings. For example, lighting oil on fire to create a massive blaze, or channeling lightning into a puddle to electrocute a group. Even basic magic has plenty of applications."
Just as Godin explained. Even a little magic massively expanded your options. Sure, it required quick thinking, but that was fine. It helped with survival anyway.
"Now, I'll divide those who've already learned magic from those who haven't. Those who have, go over there with the TA. The rest, I'll teach personally."
Hearing that, I stepped up to Godin. Among my group, everyone except Grace ended up on his side. Godin scanned us with a smile, then clapped to draw attention.
"Everyone here has never used magic before, right?"
"I can do lightning, though."
Kara chimed in casually. As a follower of Gulrak, she could wield thunder.
Godin nodded as if he'd expected it. "That's not magic—it's faith. Faith manifests through will. Magic comes through language—worlds apart."
"So which is better?"
"Can't say one is superior. Simply put, magic offers versatility; faith enhances physical prowess."
In short, magic could fire a lightning arrow, but faith couldn't. Faith was more like spewing bolts from your hands, like those aliens in some space war game. At its peak, faith could summon storm clouds to gather lightning. Magic created clouds directly; faith pulled in natural ones.
"Anyway, as I've explained, magic manifests through language. Like this."
Godin fluidly moved his fingers in the air, writing letters slowly enough for us to follow.
"Fire."
Fwoosh!
As he spoke the word, flames burst from his hand, big enough to cover his palm.
I'd seen fire magic countless times in exams and practices, so it didn't impress me. Same for the others—mostly warriors, they just watched impassively.
"The simplest spell. Fire magic, alongside water, is the elemental force humans handle best. It's etched into our survival instincts."
Indeed, fire and water spells were easy to learn. I could probably do it right now. Fire sparked civilization; water sustained life. It was hardcoded into our genes.
"Professor. Question."
"Yes, go ahead."
"You said magic is language, but some chant 'Rise in flames!' for a huge fire pillar. How's that work?"
A common sight in exams and practices. Those words, and flames erupted from the ground.
Godin praised the great question and demonstrated. "Rise in flames."
His mouth said that, but his hand wrote fire pillar. Different words, same result.
Fwoosh!
It was a small pillar in common tongue, like the ones I'd seen. Not enough to explain fully, so Godin kept going.
"Erupt. Surge. Soar. Blaze up."
Fwoosh! Fwoosh!
Different chants, but his hand always wrote the same word. Results were similar—shapes varied, but fire was fire.
"As you see, the spoken words differ, but the written 'fire pillar' is identical. As I said in the first class, words like 'see' have endless synonyms. Nail the essence of 'fire pillar,' and any phrase works. But 'Rise in flames' fits best, so it's popular."
"Ohhh..."
"Any other questions?"
As if. We preferred action over theory. Godin, knowing this, skipped ahead to practice, handing out recording devices first.
"Review your failures. Check pronunciation, handwriting errors, etc. Don't just brute-force it."
Even as I listened, I pondered. Which language to use? Korean or common tongue—either worked. Common was new to me, so tricky either way. Korean might raise suspicions.
'Doesn't matter if I suck.'
I only needed defensive magic from Godin. Nothing else.
I took my recorder and glanced around to see how others were doing.
"Uh, huh? Wh-why won't this go out? Out! Go out!"
"Careful. Careful."
One student lit their hand successfully but failed to extinguish it. Simple fix: stop supplying mana. Your own mana-spawned spell wouldn't harm you—though backlash was your problem.
'Fire first...'
I focused mana at my fingertip. Controlling red mana precisely was tough—recall the jewel shattering and compressing.
Magic was concentration for me. Might even improve my focus. Not that I wanted to be a mage.
'Fire in common tongue...'
I slowly wrote the word in the air, meticulously to avoid mishaps.
Once done, I focused on my fingertip and whispered.
"Fire."
Fwoosh!
Thankfully, a small flame appeared. Not just the fingertip—my whole hand. Fine, I thought, until I noticed it spreading to my entire arm.
'How far did this go?'
As I checked my body, a scream pierced the air.
"Gah! Th-that!!"
"Huh?"
I turned quizzically. A student stared at me like I'd seen a ghost.
"W-w-w-water! Water! Where's the water?!"
"Hey! Roll! Roll now, idiot!"
Antonio bellowed after the others. Only then did I look down. I'd aimed for the fingertip, but... my whole body was engulfed in flames. Not even Ghost Rider lit up head-only; I was a full inferno.
"Pour!"
Whoosh!
As I puzzled over it, water dumped from above. Cold—definitely water. Someone had magicked a deluge over me. The flames vanished. Soaked, no more fire risk.
"Phew... Good thing I prepared. You okay?"
As expected, Godin. He sighed in relief, checking on me.
I shook my dripping hair and answered honestly.
"Cold."
"......"
Godin looked speechless.
*****
After Sivar's Ghost Rider incident, Godin kept a close eye on him. Who knew a simple flame would engulf his whole body? Unthinkable.
'Never heard of that...'
Theoretically, only a mana-composed body could do that—or failed control. Godin leaned toward the latter. Magic demanded precise mana control; power adjustment was one thing, fine-tuning another. Hence the mess.
'Willing to learn, and not dumb either.'
Godin watched Sivar dry off and refocus. Feet fidgeting nonstop—who knew what he was thinking? Godin wanted to help but let him be; the kid insisted on solo.
'Wish he was dumber.'
Midterms showed Sivar's genius applications: self-destruct pulls, molotov herding. Pre-civilization, even. Add magic? Unpredictable chaos.
Swish—
'...Why shoes off?'
Sivar kicked off his shoes, barefoot. What next?
His toes wiggled—not idly, writing letters. With the big toe.
"......Ala."
Quiet, but Godin heard—ears attuned.
BOOM!!
The result exceeded imagination. Massive explosions from both feet, faint flames trailing. He'd made fire pillars from his soles.
"Wh-what? What now?!"
"Hot hot hot!!"
"......"
Godin was speechless again, jaw dropped in shock.
Common knowledge: tight spaces amplify magic blasts due to confined mana. He'd forgotten to mention—Sivar's wild background slipped his mind.
"......Where'd he go?"
"Did he blow up?"
"Won't die from that."
As Godin nursed a headache, uneasy murmurs reached him. He checked Sivar's spot hastily.
True to their words, Sivar had vanished. Only scorch marks remained.
"Th-there! That's him, right?!"
"What? Where?"
"Up! Hanging there!"
Just as he sensed paperwork incoming and chuckled bitterly, a student pointed at the ceiling. Practice room ceilings were magically high.
"......Looks like it? Why's he embedded?"
"Stuck, not stabbed?"
"Wriggling like that—impressive."
And there Sivar was, literally stuck in the ceiling. Thrashing meant he was fine. Blasted upward at insane speed, head-planted straight in.
So absurd, shock turned to wonder. He'd been quiet lately—now this.
Thud—
"Oh. Falling."
"Everyone, dodge!"
Soon, ceiling-stuck Sivar dropped. Students scattered, fearing harm—no catching him.
Thump!
He landed smoothly. Excellent balance. He brushed ceiling debris from his hair, then locked eyes with Godin.
"......"
"......"
"......Sorry."
"......Yeah. Thanks."
Apology accepted.
"I'll teach Sivar's magic personally. Class dismissed for today."
"Okay."
"Hoo..."
Godin sighed deeply, gazing at the ceiling. Sivar's head-hole mirrored his rattled mood.
'Is he even human?'
The doubt crept in.